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Apple’s accessory grip slips due to Lightning, Bluetooth

Thanks in part to Apple’s switch to more expensive Lightning connectors, as well as the ascendance of Bluetooth wireless connectivity, Apple’s grip on accessory makers is starting to slip, according to a New York Times report. While many retail stores and hotel rooms previously featured Dock Connector accessories, the market has expanded and broadened, reducing Apple’s presence. A number of accessory makers expressed frustration with the Lightning connector transition, as companies were not notified of the change in advance, and fees for both licensing and manufacturing have gone up. Consequently, accessory makers opted to leave Apple docks out of their products; Logitech, Voxx, and Geneva Lab told the Times that they’ve dropped physical Apple connectors from most or all of their products.

For its part, Apple says it doesn’t mind accessories continuing in a more wireless direction. Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said, “Apple provides users with the best wired and wireless connectivity options to work with the broadest range of accessories.” Still, sales of speakers with docks dropped 16% in 2012, while sales of wireless streaming speakers jumped 175%, according to an NPD Group report.

Comments

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Apple misjudged this one. They intentionally shifted the momentum “war” to favor their competition. Previously, the majority of devices out there in the wild were 30 pin devices, now the majority are micro-USB, and since Apple is the only vendor crazy enough to go newly proprietary in 2012, that’s how it’s going to stay.

That the lightning cables are proving even less durable than 30 pin based ones and cost considerably more, isn’t helping my feelings about their bone headed choice one bit. Including the ones that came with our devices, we’ve had 7 different lightning cables, 5 Apple, 2 Amazon. 1 Apple already failed completely, and 1 Apple and 1 Amazon already have intermittent shorts. ~6 months into the lightning era and nearly half the cables have failed in some way, and these are first/major party affairs costing a lot of money.